SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) 鈥� Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters battle wildfires in that destroyed at least 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area.
The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday morning and filled the sky with smoke and haze. They were 0% contained, Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said.
No major injuries or deaths were reported by Monday, though authorities were checking for missing people, said Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff鈥檚 Office.
鈥淚nitially, we had approximately 290 missing person reports, and at this point we have cleared all except 14,鈥� Gregory said. 鈥淭hese may not all be specifically associated with the Spokane Complex Fires.”
The wildfires were among dozens across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington.
Homes, cars, possessions lost in flames
Entire Spokane neighborhoods lost homes. Chimneys that somehow withstood heat and flames were still standing like lone sentinels, symbols of what was there just a few days earlier.
Online efforts to help people swiftly popped up as friends of fire victims posted numerous appeals for money, clothes and basic necessities. Kory and MacKensie Aspaas were away with their children when the disaster hit.
鈥淭hey are coming back from being out of town to a life that鈥檚 been completely wiped out,鈥� friend Kali Butler said.
Officials said Sunday that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital. Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started.
The weather forecast for Monday called cooler temperatures and light winds, but no rain.
鈥淲e are not out of danger,鈥� U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said Sunday. 鈥淭he next couple of days will be challenging.鈥�
Grassland in flames in parts of Idaho, Oregon and Utah
Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.
Crews using bulldozers and helicopters continued for a 10th day to fight a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles (about 1,360 square kilometers) of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.
The weather in the area was expected to remain sunny and dry well into the week, to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday. Officials say the fire was caused by lightning.
In central Utah, a massive blaze more than doubled in size over the weekend and was nearly 57 square miles (147 square kilometers) by Monday morning. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to local law enforcement.
Officials called the fire 鈥渃atastrophic” as heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines.
The fire is moving north toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County. Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the southern portion of Fillmore.
The National Weather Service issued warnings about the air quality across the northwest. It issued red flag fire warnings for parts of Utah and Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for the southern parts of Arizona, California and Nevada and northern Montana.
Spokane sets up shelter for impacted residents
In Spokane, about 400 people were staying at city’s main convention center, which was turned into a shelter, officials said.
Spokane Public Schools opened a free emergency drop-in camp for children on Monday. Trials at the county court were pushed to Aug. 10.
Meanwhile, several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane, including one about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the city that has burned about 210 square miles (544 square kilometers). Another fire in eastern Oregon, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the northwest in the Stinkingwater Mountains, has burned about 336 square miles (870 square kilometers).
鈥淭he whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,鈥� said Keila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what’s been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H., and Ed White in Detroit contributed.
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